Robinson Crusoe is a novel by Daniel Defoe, published in 1719. It tells the story of a castaway who spends 28 years on a remote tropical island near Venezuela, encountering cannibals, captives and mutineers before being rescued. The novel is widely seen as a prototype of the modern adventure novel and is often credited as one of the earliest examples of fiction based on realistic ideas. It has been adapted to film and other media numerous times and continues to influence popular culture today.